Fuel for Endurance

One of the hardest things in Endurance sports is finding something to fuel you during your trainings and races. More importantly, finding something that your body can stomach and hold down after 40km’s of running in the mountains! Everyone has their own unique pearls of wisdom in this area, but today I thought I might give a taste mine.

I came across OSM bars many years ago, but I only started using them for trail running in the last few years. They are tasty, light, and fill you up very quickly!

On my short runs I use the OSM bars to fuel me before my run. Of course you have to be careful, not to eat too close to your run. But I find that eating a bar about 45 minutes before my run gives me enough energy for a 1 – 1.5 hour run.

For longer runs when I have a hydration pack with me. I take one bar and two or three bite-size OSM’s. I find the OSM Bites very handy, as they are small and are just the right amount of food to keep you going. For myself when I’m training the little things, such as a quick stop, doesn’t normally matter. However, when I’m racing every little bit counts, and I like how with the OSM Bites I don’t have to stop to open the packet!

From a nutritional side, after having a OSM bite I feel energised and ready to continue my run. While racing the Taupo Ultramarathon 50km in October this year, I was having problems with cramps later on during the race. So at the next aid station I had an OSM, and by a kilometre after finishing it, the cramp that I had was gone and my pace was back to normal.

For me it’s very important that I’m eating good foods rather than just gels for a long race such as an ultra, and OSM is perfect for that! During a race I take a bite size bar every hour, which helps avoid cramp and keeps the energy stores at bay! I balance this with water.

OSM NZ keep me fuelled for my running adventures by sending me a Weekend Warrior pack, find it here; https://www.osm.nz/our-subscriptions/choose-flavours-weekend/. It’s just the right balance of bars, to bites, and keeps me fuelled pre-runs, during runs, and after runs! The Weekend Warriors pack is a subscription pack, which I really think is useful to runners such as myself. It’s also an excellent way to get a mixture of flavours and sizes of OSM’s!

So have you been struggling with finding a great snack to fuel and energise you on your runs? Head along to their website and try them – you won’t regret ordering a post card pack at all! I give you my promise, the OSM bars live up to the companies’ motto; OSM to the rescue!